Adding and Removing Tables in Microsoft Access 2007

The simple interface in Microsoft Access 2007 enables you to add or delete database tables — after all, even seasoned experts forget things now and then.

One more, please

If, after you start building your database, you decide that your database warrants more than one table — in other words, if you realize you need a relational database — you need to add another table. If you already knew that your database was going to need multiple tables, after building the first one the only thing to do is build the rest, one by one.

To add new tables to an existing database, repeat the following steps for each new table:

1. Click the Create tab.

The Create tab's buttons appear.

2. Click the Table button on the Ribbon.

A new table — blank and awaiting the name for the first field — appears.

3. Build and name the fields for this new table as shown in the previous procedure.

Save your database periodically as you work.

4. Continue adding tables, using Steps 1 through 3, for as many tables as you need in the database.

You don't have to do this perfectly from the start — you can always go back to rename fields and add or remove tables. The goal here is to just do it — just get started and get the database going, so you can see what you have and start working with it.

Oops, I didn't mean to do that

So you have a table you didn't want. Maybe you realize after building Table C that you really only need Tables A and B — or that Table D, which you've also created, really makes Table C unnecessary. Whatever the reason, tables, even ones with records in them, are easy to get rid of.

Be careful! Tables may be too easy to remove. Before you delete a table, check and recheck your database to make sure you aren't deleting information that you need to keep. When a table is deleted, all connections to it — relationships, references in queries and reports — are deleted, too. A prompt appears when you choose to delete a table, reminding you of this.

1. With your database open, look at the panel on the left side of the workspace.

You should see a list of your tables in that panel, each one represented by a long, horizontal button.

2. Click the pair of down-pointing arrows at the right end of the button for the table you want to get rid of.

The table name is repeated on a bar that appears beneath the original button.

3. Right-click the table name on that new bar and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.

4. Click Yes in response to the resulting prompt if, in fact, you do want to delete the table.